Media caption“We’re still not out of the woods yet” – Lisa Minot, travel editor of the Sun newspaper

“They really just cannot predict where the flames are going to go,” she said.

“The strong winds are gusting at very high speeds and they switch – they go from one direction to the other.”

Image caption Chris Wright is on holiday with his family at the Camp du Domaine campsite

Chris Wright is holidaying in the same campsite.

“We were asleep last night and there was a knock on the door,” he told the BBC.

“A friend said, ‘I don’t want to worry you, but you might have to pack a bag to evacuate.’

“We couldn’t see anything at first, but as we walked to reception we could see the flames.

“There must have been a thousand people on the beach.”

John Grant, on holiday near Bormes-les-Mimosas, told the BBC the night sky was lit up “like Dante’s inferno”.

“It was scary,” he said.

“We are regulars to the area and are used to the odd fire but this was certainly larger than anything we had seen previously.”

Image copyrightCatherine PrentisImage caption Catherine Prentis told the BBC that people had been instructed to collect valuables and flee Image copyrightJulian LaisterImage caption Holidaymakers in Cavalaire-sur-Mer look on as fires continue to burn

Writing on Instagram on Wednesday, Ms Minot said that some tourists were uncertain as to their next movements.

“[The] fire is getting fierce,” she said. “We are packed but don’t know what to do.”

Catherine Prentis, on holiday with her children, was evacuated from the campsite for a second time on Wednesday.

“They’re telling us on the Camp du Domaine website to stay away,” she said.

“The last update we had was that the flames were near the gates of the site.

“We don’t know what to do. Our campsite is about a mile away from where we are now.

“People here are windsurfing, swimming, having fun – but if you look behind you there’s a cloud of smoke covering the campsite.”

She said planes collecting water to fight the fires were “having to dodge the windsurfers”.